Fire causes damage to Bridgeport YMCA

Updated 2:15 pm, Friday, August 31, 2012

The YMCA in Bridgeport, Conn. was damaged early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 when a small fire in a fourth-floor apartment in the building set off the building's sprinkler system.

The YMCA in Bridgeport, Conn. was damaged early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 when a small fire in a fourth-floor apartment in the building set off the building's sprinkler system.

Photo: Ben Doody

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The YMCA in Bridgeport, Conn. was damaged early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 when a small fire in a fourth-floor apartment in the building set off the building's sprinkler system.

The YMCA in Bridgeport, Conn. was damaged early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 31, 2012 when a small fire in a fourth-floor apartment in the building set off the building's sprinkler system.

Photo: Ben Doody

Fire causes damage to Bridgeport YMCA

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BRIDGEPORT -- The YMCA on State Street sustained extensive water damage early Friday morning after a fire in an adjacent apartment set off the building's sprinkler system, officials said.

Assistant Fire Chief Christopher Martin said the fire broke out at about 1:30 a.m. in a fourth-floor bedroom, where preliminary indications are a resident had been smoking.

Martin said the curtain in the bedroom caught fire and the apartment sustained minor fire damage, but the most extensive damage done to the building was caused by the sprinkler system, which is extremely powerful.

Christian Engle, the chief operating officer of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA, said the facility was expected to reopen by noon. Electricians examined the building's wiring to determine whether it was safe to turn the power back on, he said.

Water from the sprinker system poured through ceiling tiles and onto the hardwood basketball court below. Engle said. Crews worked to dry the floor and used dehumidifiers to help absorb the water.

Other portions of the gym, including the overhead running track, were not affected.

A resident who asked not to be identified by name said the State Street building also sustained heavy damage about two weeks ago in a similar incident. The man, who has lived in the building for about four years, said the fire broke out in apartment upstairs from the YMCA's basketball court, which sustained heavy water damage.

"The water just starts running everywhere and people's apartments were flooded," he said. "The same thing just happened, and the staff isn't happy about it."

Engel confirmed the earlier fire and that it started in an apartment. Although the sprinkler system flooded a portion of the building then, "it was in a different section of the Y than today. Repairs are just being finished up from that."

The basketball court was not affected in the earlier incident, he said. The YMCA carries insurance on its facilities, the chief operating officer said. The fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of Friday's fire.

Engel said he is checking to see whether smoking is permitted in rooms and apartments managed by the YMCA.